Published: Wednesday, October 3, 2012 at 10:27 PM.

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Two Lenoir County men who spent their lives capturing beauty will be honored in exhibits which open today with a reception at the Community Council for the Arts. Henry Pearson expressed his art in line drawings and in optical effect paintings. Charles Buchanan captured permanent images of people, nature, history through the shutters of his cameras. Both men’s bodies of works will consume the first floor of the arts center in “Retrospectives” of their work and lives. Pearson studied art at UNC, receiving a Bachelor of Arts, and later studied theatrical design at Yale University, earning a Masters in Fine Arts. He spent more than 11 years in the army during and after World War II. On one tour of duty in Japan, he was assigned to interpret topographical maps because of his past training in theatrical set design. He later returned to Japan to immerse himself in further study of the culture. In 1953, he enrolled at the Arts Students League in New York. His interest in topography and the landscape lead him to experiment with optical effects and his own fine line drawings. His work is associated with the Op-Art Movement, which was gaining popularity at the time he worked on developing his drawing style. He lived most of his years in New York City and his work is owned by many collectors throughout the United States and numerous museums, including the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. His youngest sibling Stanley Pearson owned a music store in Kinston and now teaches music lessons on a number of instruments. He and his wife Faith have loaned some items from their personal collection to the exhibit, including a painting of Henry, which the Pearsons claim to be a “very good likeness” done by famous oil painter and Henry’s friend Wil Barnet. Other borrowed works feature stage set designs Henry did as part of his master’s thesis assignment at Yale, and a small painting which he did as a child. Other borrowed pieces include artwork given to Henry by personal friends who are famous artists in their own right, which he had donated, along with several of own, to the arts center’s permanent collection. “We are humbled and extremely fortunate to have the works of Henry Pearson, a native son, hanging on the walls of the arts council, particularly in this year that marks the 250th celebration of Kinston’s birth,” said Sandy Landis, the arts center’s executive director. “Henry made a unique mark on the national and international art scene, particularly with his paintings in the ‘op art’ theme.” The Pearson exhib is in partnership with the Fine Arts Departments at Lenoir Community College, ECU, Permanent Collections of the arts center, Neuse Regional Library, and Maria V. Howard Arts Center at Rocky Mount. Buchanan was chief photographer of The Free Press for more than 35 years. During his tenure, he was awarded dozens of North Carolina Press Association awards. He is known for his passion for his hometown and his work as a professional journalist, with an uncanny ability to capture events and people in his camera lens. A story remembering Charles, who died unexpectedly in March, ran in Sunday’s Free Press. “It is our distinct pleasure to exhibit these pieces and celebrate the creative talents of this Kinstonian.” Other shows now hanging include the beginnings of the SALUTE exhibit, which will move and be added to in early November; photographs by several Arendell Parrott Academy students of scenes in Kinston; and the popsicle stick work of young Jairus Tripp. These examples of the creativeness of Kinstonians are displayed in celebration of Kinston’s 250th birthday.

Two Lenoir County men who spent their lives capturing beauty will be honored in exhibits which open today with a reception at the Community Council for the Arts.
Henry Pearson expressed his art in line drawings and in optical effect paintings. Charles Buchanan captured permanent images of people, nature, history through the shutters of his cameras.
Both men’s bodies of works will consume the first floor of the arts center in “Retrospectives” of their work and lives.
Pearson studied art at UNC, receiving a Bachelor of Arts, and later studied theatrical design at Yale University, earning a Masters in Fine Arts. He spent more than 11 years in the army during and after World War II.
On one tour of duty in Japan, he was assigned to interpret topographical maps because of his past training in theatrical set design. He later returned to Japan to immerse himself in further study of the culture.
In 1953, he enrolled at the Arts Students League in New York. His interest in topography and the landscape lead him to experiment with optical effects and his own fine line drawings. His work is associated with the Op-Art Movement, which was gaining popularity at the time he worked on developing his drawing style.
He lived most of his years in New York City and his work is owned by many collectors throughout the United States and numerous museums, including the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
His youngest sibling Stanley Pearson owned a music store in Kinston and now teaches music lessons on a number of instruments.
He and his wife Faith have loaned some items from their personal collection to the exhibit, including a painting of Henry, which the Pearsons claim to be a “very good likeness” done by famous oil painter and Henry’s friend Wil Barnet. Other borrowed works feature stage set designs Henry did as part of his master’s thesis assignment at Yale, and a small painting which he did as a child.
Other borrowed pieces include artwork given to Henry by personal friends who are famous artists in their own right, which he had donated, along with several of own, to the arts center’s permanent collection.
“We are humbled and extremely fortunate to have the works of Henry Pearson, a native son, hanging on the walls of the arts council, particularly in this year that marks the 250th celebration of Kinston’s birth,” said Sandy Landis, the arts center’s executive director. “Henry made a unique mark on the national and international art scene, particularly with his paintings in the ‘op art’ theme.”
The Pearson exhib is in partnership with the Fine Arts Departments at Lenoir Community College, ECU, Permanent Collections of the arts center, Neuse Regional Library, and Maria V. Howard Arts Center at Rocky Mount.
Buchanan was chief photographer of The Free Press for more than 35 years. During his tenure, he was awarded dozens of North Carolina Press Association awards. He is known for his passion for his hometown and his work as a professional journalist, with an uncanny ability to capture events and people in his camera lens.
A story remembering Charles, who died unexpectedly in March, ran in Sunday’s Free Press.
“It is our distinct pleasure to exhibit these pieces and celebrate the creative talents of this Kinstonian.”
Other shows now hanging include the beginnings of the SALUTE exhibit, which will move and be added to in early November; photographs by several Arendell Parrott Academy students of scenes in Kinston; and the popsicle stick work of young Jairus Tripp. These examples of the creativeness of Kinstonians are displayed in celebration of Kinston’s 250th birthday.